Sidewalk-Jumping Driver Kills One Pedestrian, Injures Another in Great Kills

Update: The victim who died in this crash was identified as Christal Aliotta, 31. As of Tuesday the driver, 23-year-old Michael Fox, was charged with aggravated unlicensed operation and drug possession, according to the Advance.

Police say charges are pending after a curb-jumping driver killed one pedestrian and injured another in Staten Island this afternoon.

At around 1:44 p.m. a motorist drove onto the sidewalk at Hylan Boulevard and Cleveland Avenue in Great Kills, striking two women, according to the Staten Island Advance. An FDNY spokesperson said two people were transported but did not have information on their conditions. The Advance reported that, according to NYPD, one victim died at the scene, and the other was hospitalized in stable condition.

A photo published by the Advance shows a tan Honda sedan with extensive front end damage on a sidewalk surrounded by police tape. “Several personal items, including a bag and shoes, were strewn about the sidewalk nearby,” the Advance reported.

NYPD told Streetsblog charges against the driver were forthcoming. Police had not released the names of anyone involved in the crash as of this writing.

New York City motorists have fatally struck at least 17 pedestrians on sidewalks, in open fields, and in places of business since January 2013, according to crash data compiled by Streetsblog.

This fatal crash occurred in the 122nd Precinct. To voice your concerns about neighborhood traffic safety directly to Captain Robert Bocchino, the commanding officer, go to the next precinct community council meeting. The 122nd Precinct council meetings happen at 8 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the precinct, 2320 Hylan Blvd. Call 718-667-2292 for information.

City Council member Vincent Ignizio has signed onto Intro 0370-2014, which would require the DOT to post warnings at intersections where speed cameras are located. Sponsor Steve Matteo (District 50) publically admits he introduced this bill because he thinks cameras are “cash cows”.

Councilman Ignizio is sponsor of Intro 0071-2014, which would mandate installing pedestrian countdown signals at intersections with red light cameras. This one is intended, as fellow sponsor Matteo admits, to help drivers gauge how many seconds they have to beat traffic lights. It would lead to misusing pedestrian safety equipment by mandating their placement at intersections with short crossing distances, where the DOT makes clear they would have no effect on pedestrian safety. It would lead to wasting pedestrian countdown signals by putting them at intersections that have little or no history of pedestrian injury or fatality.

Not sure if Mssr’s Ignizio and Matteo are capable of being educated on traffic safety issues. I suggest contacting the Council Speaker and all the members of the Council Transportation Committee and telling them to put the kibosh on the above bills.

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A motorist who crashed on a Staten Island sidewalk was charged by District Attorney Dan Donovan with driving without a license and drug possession, but not for killing one pedestrian and hospitalizing another. On the afternoon of June 9, a motorist jumped the curb and hit 31-year-old Christal Aliotta and her 20-year-old cousin Stephanie Canecchio as they walked […]

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